MANASQUAN, NJ – Manasquan High School alumnus and Brielle native Chris Pinnella has been cast in a leading role for the upcoming Algonquin Arts Theatre production of The 1940's Radio Hour which will run from Dec. 1 to Dec. 4. The cast includes several veterans of the Manasquan stage and many musically talented debutantes.

Pinnella, who wowed the audience in last summer's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, joins other experienced Algonquin Players including Alison Gleason, the narrator for Joseph, and Jerry Hyman, who played Morrie in Tuesdays with Morrie.

Set on Christmas Eve in 1942 – coincidentally in the Hotel Astor's Algonquin Room – The 1940’s Radio Hour recreates the evening radio broadcast of the Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade on New York City's WOV featuring era music, sound effects and dancing. The musical score is one of the shows main highlights, featuring standards such as Love is Here to Stay, That Old Black Magic and Boogie Woggie Bugle Boy.

Tickets are $27 for adults, $25 for seniors and $18 for students and are available online at algonquinarts.org, by phone at 732-528-9211 or in person at the Algonquin Box Office at 173 Main Street in Manasquan from 12-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 12-4 p.m. on Saturdays. Each ticket subject to a $2 processing fee.

Broadway and Paper Mill director Robert Johanson returns to direct an Algonquin Arts Theatre production for the third time after also directing Tuesdays with Morrie and last summer's hit, Joseph. Brookdale Big Band founder Joe Accurso serves as the musical director and, as Zoot Doubleman, will conduct the WOV orchestra – a live big band on stage.

Pinnella will play the role of Johnny Cantone, a rough and tough former boxer from Brooklyn with a velvety voice that has him on the Frank Sinatra bandwagon and as the featured vocalist in the Cavalcade. Pinnella has performed off-Broadway, regionally, and with several orchestras as a guest vocalist and recently recorded a pair of original songs now available on iTunes.

The stage doorman, Pops Bailey, will be played by Hyman, a Margate City native whose credits include Boardwalk Empire and Friends with Benefits. More than just the doorman, however, Pops is a crotchety, crusty part-time bookie who listens to the races and doesn't bother to call anyone by name.

Gleason's role will be Ginger Brooks, a bubble-headed waitress-come-signer with a pinup look. Audra Mariel Taliercio plays Ann Collier, Johnny's girlfriend and the 'old standard' at the station. Danielle Yucht (Joseph) of Howell returns to play Connie Miller, the
bobbysoxer from Utah.

International recording artist Kid Akimbo comes to the Algonquin stage to play B.J. Gibson, the squeaky-clean Yale undergraduate. Musician Matt Wade of Pt. Pleasant plays Wally Ferguson, a hopeful from Altoona, Pa., who is looking for his showbiz break while another singer/songwriter, Dave Melillo, plays Stanley, who controls the control room.

Eric McDonough of Pt. Pleasant plays Clifton A. Feddington, the general manager of WOV, and Joe Gullace will play trumpet as Biff Baker, who is headed off to the Army.

The five performances of The 1940's Radio Hour include a 2 p.m. matinee on Thursday, Dec. 1, and a morning show at 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 2. There will be two evening presentations at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and a closing matinee at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4.

Algonquin Arts Theatre was founded in 1992 as a nonprofit organization that uses the arts to provide cultural enrichment and educational enhancement of the highest quality for Central New Jersey residents.